3 long afterwards in praise of Addison, he has copied, at least has resembled, Tickell. "Let joy transport fair Rosamonda's shade, Since Love, which made them wretched, makes them great. TICKELL [1709].* "Then future ages with delight shall see POPE [1721]. He produced another piece of the same kind at the appearance of Cato,' with equal skill, but not equal happiness. When the ministers of Queen Anne were negotiating with France, Tickell published [1713] 'The Prospect of Peace,' a poem, of which the tendency was to reclaim the nation from the pride of conquest to the pleasures of tranquillity. How far Tickell, whom Swift afterwards mentioned as Whiggissimus,3 had then connected himself with any party, I know not; this poem certainly did not flatter the practices, or promote the opinions, of the men by whom he was afterwards befriended. Mr. Addison, however he hated the men then in power, suffered his friendship to prevail over his public spirit, and gave in 'The Spectator' such praises of Tickell's poem, that when, after having long wished to peruse it, I laid hold on it at last, I thought it unequal to the honours which it had received, and found it a piece to be approved rather than admired. But the hope excited by a work of genius, being general and indefinite, 3 In 1721. To Mr. Addison, occasioned by his Dialogues on Medals,' but originally written in 1715. These verses were first published in Tonson's 'Sixth Miscellany' (1709). Pope, as well as Tickell, made his first appearance as a poet in this Miscellany. 5 Swift to Dr. Sheridan, Sept. 25, 1725. (Scott's Swift, xvi. 491, 2nd ed.) The Spectator, No. 523, Oct. 30, 1712. 7 Fools admire, but men of sense approve.-POPE. 1686-1740. HIS TRANSLATION FROM THE ILIAD. 321 is rarely gratified. It was read at that time with so much favour, that six editions were sold. At the arrival of King George he sung 'The Royal Progress ;' which being inserted in 'The Spectator's is well known, and of which it is just to say, that it is neither high nor low. The poetical incident of most importance in Tickell's life was his publication [June 1715] of the first book of the 'Iliad,' as translated by himself, an apparent opposition to Pope's 'Homer,' of which the first part made its entrance into the world at the same time." Addison declared that the rival versions were both good; but that Tickell's was the best that ever was made; and with Addison the wits, his adherents and followers, were certain to concur. Pope does not appear to have been much dismayed; "for," says he, "I have the town, that is, the mob on my side." But he remarks, "that it is common for the smaller party to make up in diligence what they want in numbers; he appeals to the people as his proper judges; and if they are not inclined to condemn him, he is in little care about the high-flyers at Button's.' "10 Pope did not long think Addison an impartial judge; for he considered him as the writer of Tickell's version. The reasons for his suspicion I will literally transcribe from Mr. Spence's Collection. "There had been a coldness (said Mr. Pope) between Mr. Addison and me for some time; and we had not been in company together, for a good while, any where but at Button's coffee-house, where I used to see him almost every day. On his meeting me there, one day in particular, he took me aside, The Spectator,' No. 620, for Nov. 15, 1714. I must inform the reader that when I begun this first book I had some thoughts of translating the whole 'Iliad,' but had the pleasure of being diverted from that design by finding that the work was fallen into a much abler hand. I would not, therefore, be thought to have any other view in publishing this small specimen of Homer's Iliad,' than to bespeak, if possible, the favour of the public to a translation of Homer's Odyssey,' wherein I have already made some progress.-TICKELL: To the Reader. 10 This is the sense, though not the exact words, of Pope's letter to Craggs, of July 15, 1715. (Letters, 4to., 1737, p. 127.) VOL. II. Y and said he should be glad to dine with me, at such a tavern, if I would stay till those people (Budgell and Philips) were gone. We went accordingly; and after dinner Mr. Addison said, 'That he had wanted for some time to talk with me; that his friend Tickell had formerly, whilst at Oxford, translated the first book of the Iliad ;' that he now designed to print it, and had desired him to look it over; he must therefore beg that I would not desire him to look over my first book, because, if he did, it would have the air of double-dealing.' I assured him that I did not at all take it ill of Mr. Tickell that he was going to publish his translation; that he certainly had as much right to translate any author as myself; and that publishing both was entering on a fair stage. I then added, that I would not desire him to look over my first book of the 'Iliad,' because he had looked over Mr. Tickell's; but could wish to have the benefit of his observations on my second, which I had then finished, and which Mr. Tickell had not touched upon. Accordingly I sent him the second book the next morning; and in a few days he returned it, with very high commendation. Soon after it was generally known that Mr. Tickell was publishing the first book of the Iliad,' I met Dr. Young in the street; and, upon our falling into that subject, the Doctor expressed a great deal of surprise at Tickell's having such a translation by him so long. He said, that it was inconceivable to him, and that there must be some mistake in the matter; that he and Tickell were so intimately acquainted at Oxford, that each used to communicate to the other whatever verses they wrote, even to the least things; that Tickell could not have been busied in so long a work there. without his knowing something of the matter; and that he had never heard a single word of it till on this occasion. This surprise of Dr. Young, together with what Steele has said against Tickell in relation to this affair," make it highly probable that there was some underhand dealing in that business; and indeed Tickell himself, who is a very fair, worthy man, has since, in a "He [Addison] translated the first book of the Iliad' that appeared as Tickell's; and Steele has blurted it out in his angry Preface against Tickell.POPE: Spence by Singer, p. 47. 1686-1740. ADDISON, POPE, AND TICKELL. 323 manner, as good as owned it to me. [To which Spence adds:] When it was introduced in conversation between Mr. Tickell and Mr. Pope, by a third person, Tickell did not deny it; which, considering his honour and zeal for his departed friend, was the same as owning it." 12 Upon these suspicions, with which Dr. Warburton hints that other circumstances concurred,13 Pope always in his 'Art of Sinking' quotes this book as the work of Addison,14 To compare the two translations would be tedious; the palm is now given universally to Pope; but I think the first lines of Tickell's were rather to be preferred, and Pope seems to have since borrowed something from them in the correction of his 12 Spence by Singer,' p. 147. 13 Warburton's Notes on 'Epistle to Arbuthnot.' 14 See chapter xii., where, after quoting several instances from the rival translation, he adds, "or these of the same hand," quoting Addison's lines on Sacheverell. See 'Miscellanies, the Last Volume,' 8vo. 1728, p. 61. Dr. Young, Lord Bathurst, Mr. Harte, and Lord Lyttelton, each of them assured me that Addison himself certainly translated the first book of Homer. -WARTON on Pope, ii. 246, ed. 1782. Steele, in the Dedication to Congreve of Addison's 'Drummer,' challenges the reputed translator of the first book to produce a second. 15 Tickell's intended 'Preface' to his translation is still preserved among the Tickell Papers,' and was first printed in Miss Aikin's 'Addison,' ii. 128. "If in this work I have not always confined myself to a Literal Version of ye Original, which would have been irksome to an English Reader, as well as Translator; I have at least taken pains to reject every phrase that is not entirely Homerical, and have industriously avoided mixing y Elegance or Ease of Virgil and Ovid with yo Simplicity, Majesty, and Vehemence of Homer: so that any seeming Deviation from ye sense of ye very words translated may be justified from Parallel Passages in yo Iliad. There is one Particular wherein I have taken y liberty to differ from all y Translations of Homer that I have seen; and that is in yo Rendering of the Compound Epithets rather by a Paraphrase than by Compound Words in our own Tongue. After repeated Trials of skill to link many words in one to answer a sonorous word in yo Original, have we not found that these Pains-takers have been translating Homer into Greek; and what was Elegance and Musick in one Language is Harshness and Pedantry in another? In ye first Iliad, for example, y cloud-compelling Jove, ye Golden-throned Juno, y far-shooting, and silver-bow'd Apollo, y white-armed Juno, and Ox-eyed Juno, y swift-footed Achilles, y brazenstep'd House, ye thunder-loving God, ye much-snowy Olympus, ye muchsounding shore, &c. are so many several epithets, which tho' elegant and sonorous in ye Greek, become either un-intelligible, un-musical, or burlesque in English. And that this is wholly owing to ye different Genius of ye two When the Hanover succession was disputed, Tickell gave what assistance his pen would supply. His 'Letter to Avignon' Languages is hence apparent, because y same Ideas, when expressed in a manner suitable to ye Turn of our Tongue, give ye same pleasure to us, that ye Ancients received in reading y Original. And I cannot but observe upon this head, that Virgil himself, in a Language much more capable of Composition than our's, hath often governed himself according to this Rule. As this manner of Translation is much ye most pleasing to ye Reader, it is y hardest to ye Translator: it being no less when it is judiciously [accurately] performed, than to take an Image that lay confused, and draw it out in its fairest Light, and full Proportions: or, in a Similitude used by my Lord Bacon upon another occasion, it is to open y embroidery, that is folded in ya Pack, and to spread out every Figure in its perfect Beauty. I shall add briefly to yo foregoing Observation, that there are several Epithets in yo Greek Tongue which, as in other Languages, have not strictly yR same meaning in their usual acceptation, as from y Words, whence they were originally derived, they seem to bear. For example, the words which literal Translators have rendered Dogs-eyes, and Drunkard, signifie no more than Impudent and Sot. The general mistake in this point hath occasioned many indelicate Versions and ignorant Criticisms." What was thought at Oxford (in Addison and Tickell's own University) is told by Young in a letter printed for the first time by Miss Aikin: To Mr. Tickell, at Button's Coffee House in Covent Garden. London June 28 [1715]. DEAR TICKELL, Be assured I want no new inducement to behave myself like your friend. To be very plain, the University almost in general gives the preference to Pope's Translation; they say his is written with more Spirit, Ornament and Freedom, and has more the air of an original. I inclined some; Hanton &c, to compare the Translation with the Greek; which was done, and it made some small alteration in their opinions, but still Pope was their man. The bottom of the case is this, they were strongly prepossest in Pope's favour, from a wrong notion of your design before the Poem came down; and the sight of yours has not force enough upon them to make them willing to contradict themselves, and own they were in the wrong; but they go far for prejudiced persons, and own yours an excellent translation, nor do I hear any violently affirm it to be worse than Pope's, but those who look on Pope as a miracle, and among those to your comfort Evans is the first, and even these zealots allow that you have outdone Pope in some particulars. E. g. the speech beginning "Oh sunk in Avarice &c. And leave a naked" &c. Upon the whole I affirm the performance has gained you much Reputation, and when they compare you with what they should compare you, with Homer only, you are much admired. It has given I know many of the best judges a desire to see the Odyssies by the same hand, which they talk of with pleasure, and I seriously believe your first piece of that will quite break their partiality |
